Progress in S'pore warplane deal

Progress in S'pore warplane deal

SINGAPORE: Singapore shortlisted Eurofighter, France's Dassault
and U.S. firm Boeing on Friday for what is expected to be an
influential warplane order worth more than US$1 billion.

The decision was a blow to rivals Lockheed Martin Corp. of the
United States and Sukhoi of Russia, which were excluded from
bidding for the order for about 20 planes, expected to be awarded
within a year.

The shortlisting of Dassault Aviation SA was particularly
important for that company, analysts said.

A Ministry of Defense official confirmed the decision,
revealed earlier to Reuters by a source involved in the program.

"The shortlist decision was based on a detailed framework that
looks at all aspects pertinent to our requirements, including
operational performance, logistics supportability, total life-
cycle costs and growth potential," ministry spokeswoman Lee May
Lin told Reuters.

Eurofighter GmbH. is a consortium of Britain's BAE Systems
Plc, European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. NV. of Germany and
France and Finmeccanica SpA of Italy.

Since Dassault's Rafale has failed to win any export
competitions against the Eurofighter Typhoon, analysts have
identified the Singapore order as crucial to the French firm.

"Singapore has the characteristics of a must-win contract for
the Rafale, so making the shortlist is clearly a major relief for
Dassault," said Goldman Sachs analyst Sash Tusa in London. --
Reuters